I'm a few months shy of 60 years old and have been commuting by bike (25 miles r/t) for 13 years. Mostly I've used inexpensive hybrids like the Trek 7100 that has been my main bike for 8 years or so. But age does catch up and hills, headwinds, and large bridges become less a challenge and more a pain in the ass (or in my case, knees). So last year I bought a Trek Valencia+, and that + means that it comes with a Bionx system installed. No throttle, just pedal assist when I want it. I put 4000 miles on it already. I bike more than I did before because I no longer care if there are strong winds. I get plenty of cardio since I still do a lot of pedaling, but when it gets annoying, I tell the little computer to add 25% or 50% assist, and I climb the hill without inventing new curse words.

If you're 25-30 and in great shape and enjoy hammering up hills, great, I did that once too. But if you're 60 and find that you're biking less because it's just too much work and too much time, then maybe some pedal assist will keep you biking. Now, I'm not talking a 1000 watt 48 volt system that is meant to go 30 mph for 30 miles without pedaling. That isn't biking, although it is a viable transportation alternative to using a car.

That's my take on it. No, it isn't cheating to use an ebike because I'm not racing anyone. I'm just going to work and back.